but will, in my professional world of graphic design, use gray. Sometimes that's the proper spelling of something (like Pantone colors). Other times, I feel like I'm being deliberately geeky to use grey (in the gd world -- because I used it purely as a fan of Tolkien) and I don't like feeling like I'm making some sort of geek point.

I can remember a long conversation back in the day at the Barnes and Noble University LOTR class about this.

Grey brings to my mind a lighter color like fog. Gray brings to my mind an earthier color that might be the color of stones in the ground or on the beach. At least for right now - but I also recognize both.

Although they use gray in the US and some other countries (forgive me for not seeing why some spellings need to be changed for use in the US), grey is the original (and therefore to my mind superior) spelling.

My daughter had "gray" on her spelling list to study, and it gave me pause when quizzing her. I mentioned to her that it can also be spelled "grey", but just to spell it the way her teacher told her! I certainly have spelled it both ways, though.

All that reading of British authors has twisted my mind to "grey." Especially Georgette Heyer. All her characters have grey eyes. Which I've only seen on one person in my life, but perhaps she means the steel-blue eyes that my niece and nephew have?